Mechanism for and process of assembly of a flexible plug cap with its terminals and electrical conductors



Aug. 15. 1939 J. WERTZHEISER 2,139,777

MECHANISM FOR AND PROCESS OF ASSEMBLY OF A FLEXIBLE PLUG CAP WITH ITS TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Jan. 9, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORM Aug. 15; 1939- 7 2,169,777 1 MECHANISM FOR AND PROCESS OF ASSEMBLY OF A FLEXIBLE PLUG JUWERTZHEISER CAP WITH ITS TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS Filed Jan. 9, 41935 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 .LI l

INVENTOR v ezsepk Wr'hezifar BY Z .m fi

ATTORNEY Aug. 15. 1939 WERTZHEISER 2,169,777

MECHANISM FOR AND PzgocEss 0F .ASSEMBLY OF A- FLExrBLE PLUG- cAP'wm'H 11's TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL counucTons Filed Jan, 9, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR I erfien'er:

ATTORNEY Aug. 15. 1939, J. *WERTZHEISER I 2,169,777

MECHANISM FOR AND PROCESS OF ASSEMBLY OF A FLEXLBLB PLUG CAP WITH ITS TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR S Filed Jan. 9, .1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR $294791 Wriiieren ATTORNEY WERTZHEISER MECHANISM FOR AND PROCESS OF ASSEMBLY OF A FLEXIBLE PLUG Aug. 15; 1939 J.

GAP wm'n 11's TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS '5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 9, 1935 INVENTOR wgfzez'sen BY ATTORNE v Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES MECHANISM FOR AND PROCESS OF ASSEM- BLY OF A FLEXIBLE PLUG CAP WITH ITS TERMINALS AND ELECTRICAL CONDUC- TORS Joseph Wertzheiser, Newark, N. .L, assignor to Hatfield Wire & Cable 00., Hillside, N. .7.

Application January 9, 1935, Serial No. 1,074

' 13 Claims. (Cl. 29 -84) This invention relates to a mechanism for and process of assembly of a flexible plug cap with its terminals and electrical conductor cable which has previously been attached to the terminals.

In the older types of plugs made of hard. insulating material such as porcelain and Bakelite, the terminals are attached to the plug or plug cap by screws or rivets and likewise the conductors of the electrical cable are attached to the terminals by screws. More or less recently, the soft rubber or flexible type of plug cap has come into quite extensive use and various ways of mounting the contact terminals or prongs therein have been proposed and used, and in certain cases the resilience or gripping properties of the soft rubber or flexible plug cap itself have been relied on to grip and hold the contact terminals in place. However, in such a type of plug, that is to say, in a one-piece soft rubber plug cap, a real difficulty is encountered in the assembly of the I then to pass through the contact terminal open-- ings and the conductor opening in the cap, the arms of a bent wire, the ends of which are formed into hooks toengage holes in the ends of the terminals andto then pull the terminals directly into their seats in the cap, but this purely hand I operation is slow because the hand tools heretofore proposed for this use have made no provision for properly expanding-the rubber cap at the right time to insure easy passage of the terminals .intoor through the plug cap;

My invention therefore has for its principal object the provision 'of a mechanism which while preferably manually operated, is provided with certain automatic'features which ensure a very speedy assembly operation whereby several hundred plugs with their terminals and cables can be assembled per hour, and with the greatest of ease on the part of the operator or director of the mechanism. Thus the manufacturing cost of the plug with its associated cable is reduced to a minimum. I

7 Other advantages of the mechanism and process to be herein described will be apparent from a reading of the specification taken in connec- Figure 4 shows atype of plug cap which the mechanism is designed to receiveI Figure 5 is a view of the terminal end of the plug cap shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a part-longitudinal, sectional and elevational view substantially on the center line of Figure 1.

Figure 'l is a plan view 01 themechanism shown in Figure 1 in one step of the operation, certain parts being omitted for the purpose of clarity.

v Figure 8 is a 'view of the plug end of the mechanism shown in Figure '7 on an enlarged scale, it beingunderstood that views like Figure 7 are on a reduced scale.

Figure 9 is a view of the contact terminals or.

Figure 10 is aside view of Figure 9. 1

Figure 11 is a partial plan'view oi the mechanism showing the next succeeding step from Figure 7 in the assembly operation.

Figure 12 is a view of the plug cap and parts of Figure 11 shown onan enlarged scale.

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure. '7, but

with the assembly process carried a step farther. Figure 14is a view of the plug cap and parts of Figure 13 on an enlarged scale. 1

Figure 15 is a view similarto Figure 7 but with the parts in the next step of the assembly v process.

Figure 16 is a view ofthe plug cap and associated parts of Figure 15 on an enlarged scale.

Figure 17 is a view' similar to Figure 11 showing the next succeeding step in the assembly process.

Figure 18 showsthe plug cap and associated parts of Figure 17 on an enlarged scale.

Figure 19 shows the final step in the assembly process after releasing the plug cap and its associated parts from the mechanism.

Figure 20 is a view of the plug cap and associated parts of Figure 19,on an enlarged scale.

Figure 21 is an enlarged view showing the manner of engagement ofon'e of the hook members with one of the terminals or contact prongs of the plug cap.

In the various views, wherein like numbers refer to corresponding parts, I is generally remembers. Disposed on opposite sides of the frame are two'side guide members 2 and 3, and arranged between these guide members is a slide or slidable member 4 which passes underneath 4 portions of the guide members 2 and 3 as indicated by the dottedflines 5, and 8.

Pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the slide B and closely adjacent the side guide members 2 and 8 are two eiongatedmembers 'l and 8, the

pivot screws being numbered 9 and ill. Carried on the frame members, 2 and 3, near the ends of the members I and 8 opposite to their pivots, are two plates Ii and '12 which act as guide ferred to as a frame made up of suitable metallic 4 plates since they overlap the ends of the, members I and 8 as well' as cam plates, each plate having cam surfaces It and I4. Cooperating with the cam surface i 3 on each member I and 8 are pins l5, which also, in certain positions of the slide 4, having the pivoted members 1 and 8 7 carried thereby, engage the cam surfaces 14 as will be later described in the operation of the device.

Intermediate the ends of the members I and 8,

a portion iscut out at l8 to form cam surfaces I1 which are adapted to engage cooperating members in the form of rollers or roller bearings i8 carried on the cross-support member l9. Adjacent the cut out portions it, a resilient member in the form of a spring 59 is positioned which acts to continuously force the members 1 and 8 toward or against the side guide members 2 and 3. Attached-to the forward end of the pivoted menu. ber 1 in any satisfactory manner as by hlocl: 25, held thereto by screws 2!, is a hoot; member 22, andsimllarly a hook member 23 is held in position on the forward end of the pivoted member 8. As shown in Figure l, the blocks 25 sit in angularly positioned grooves 55 and 56 cut in the members 1 and 8 and extend into corresponding grooves in the ends of the hook members 22 and 23, thereby cooperating to hold the members 22 and 23 to their respective arms 1 and 8. The forward ends of the members 22 and 28 are formed in a manner to produce the results which will be described in the'operatlon of the device, and terminate in hooks 24 which are specially formed as indicated in Figure 21 to properly engage the terminal 25 so that the automatic releasing of the hook ends 24 from the terminals 25 will be properly assured.

Attached to the bottom part of the slide 4, through the medium of a block 26 which is held thereto in any satisfactory manner as by screw "studs 21, is a lever 28 pivoted to the ears 28 which are a part of or attached to the block 25. To the opposite end of the lever 28 is attached an arm 38, only part of which is illustrated, it being deemed sumclent to say that the arm 30 is pivoted on a rod 58 supported by brackets 51 and 58, and is operated by a foot pedal not shown. This will be referred to in the operation of the mocha-o pivotally mounted, as by means of studs 38, a

pair of arms 31 and 38 which are normally held in the position shown in Figure 2 by springs 39 and 48. The arms 31 and 38 are provided with complemental socket portions 4| to receive a plug cap 42 having terminal orifices 43 therein which communicate with the cable orifice at the opposite end of the plugcap. The arms 31 and 38 are also provided with complementary recesses 8i to -facilitate the placement of the plug cap 42 in position to be engaged by the sockets 4|.

The front frame member 44 has an opening or openings 45 therein in alignment with the hooks 24 which are at times also in alignment with the terminal orifices 43 of the plug cap 42 when it is placed in position to be gripped by the socket portions 4| of the arms 31 and 38 which are provided with stop portions 45 adapted to P8 5 into engagement with the cut away portion of a stop member 41 as shown in Figures 2 and 3 whereby the plug cap 42 will be held in such a manner that it can expand during the various assembly steps as will be later pointed out. The lower ends of the arms 31 and 38 are in their open position as shown in Figure 2, very close together; in fact, they may come together thereby each acting as a stop for the other.

Positioned between these ends of the arms 31 and 38, is a cam member 48 which is carried on a shaft or rod 49 adapted to be operated by a direction the cam 48 is forced into the position shown in Figure 3 which causes it to wedge between the ends of the arms 31 and 38, forcin them apart as indicated in the'posltion in Figure 3. The cam 48 is provided with flat surfaces 5i so the arms are locked on these flat surfaces until the lever 50 is operated again in opposite direction to release the cam 56, allowing the springs 39 and 5G to restore the arms to open position as shown in Figure 2. Also mounted at the forward end of the mechanism is another lever 52. This operates a rod or shaft 53 on which is supported a block 54 having a part cut away to form a clearance throat 55 to clear the hook ends 24 on the members 22 and 23 as the block is operated by the lever 52. The block 54 also has shoulders for engaging the ends of the contact terminals (see Figures 19 and 20). The lever 52 is normally held in the position shown in Figure 6 by a spring 54. A

Coming now to the;operation of my mechanism and the process of assembly, it being understood that the conductors of the cable C are first securely attached to the terminals 25 which are provide dwith holes 60, the plug cap 42 is placed in position to be engaged by the complementary socket portions 4 i. Then the lever 55 is operated to close the arms 31 and 38 to the position shown in Figure 3, from which the plug cap has been omitted as it is shown in various other figures, thereby holdingthe cap ready to receive the terminals and cables. The foot pedal (not shown) is then operated, thereby moving the lever 35, which is interconnected with the slide 4, to move the slide 4 forward so that the members 1 and I carrying the hook members 22 and 23 move into the position shown in Figure 7, whereby the ends or hooks 24 protrude through the cap 42, it being understood that the hook ends of the members 22 and 23 pass through their respective contact terminal orifices 43 in the plug 42 and through the cable orifice.

The members 22 and 23 are of a material which will take a spring temper and the hook ends are so formed that they will, after passing through the orifices 45 in the front plate 44, readily go through the contact terminal orifices 43, and since these hook ends are spring-temperedthey have, while relatively small, considerable stiifness and are so formed as to act in conjunction with the movement of themembers 1 and .8, so that the plug cap is stretched at different points at the proper time in the cycle of operation, so that the terminals 25 may be pulled through the plug cap with the least possible distortion thereof and without any danger of tearing the plug cap, it being understood that the terminals 25 are engaged by the hooks 24 after the mechanism has been moved to the position shown in Figure 'I.

It will beiseen by reference to Figure 1, that at the beginning of the forward movement of the the position shown in Figure 1, so that they will be in proper alignment with the orifices 45 and in alignment with the terminal openings 43 which, it is to be understood, are substantially full size, whereas in Figure 2, they are made on a reduced scale.

The path of movement of the forward ends of the hook members 22 and 23 is indicated by the dotted line 62 (see Figure 11) On the return movement of the slide 4, which is preferably brought about by the springs 33, the members I and 8 are moved in a manner controlled by the cam surfaces I1 and i4 engaging the rollers l8 and pins IE to cause the formed ends of the hook members 22 and 23 to move in a direction that will expand the flexible rubber cap-in a manner such that the terminals 25 will find a readypassage into the terminal orifices 48 as is more clearly seen in Figure 12.

Continued operationof the slide 6 with its associated parts back to normal or rest position,

whereby the end of the slide engages the adjustable stop 34, carries the terminals with the cable attached to the position shown in Figure 13, or as shown in the enlarged view of Figure 14. The slide is then moved slightly forward, causing the pins l5, riding on the cam surfaces l3, to force these ends of the members I and 8 toward each other and at the same time force the inner terminal ends apart, and causes automaticreleasing of the hooks 24 from the terminals as shown in Figures 15 and 16, after which the slide is allowed to return to rest position by the return spring 83.

Then the lever 52 is given a backward motion,

I causing the block 54 to engage the ends of the terminals 25 which have been carried backward through the plug cap 42 to a position beyond their normal position in the plug cap. The formation of the walls of the block 54 is such, as will be seen from Figures 19 and 20, as to bring the terminals into parallelism and then force the terminals into operative position in the plug cap where their inner ends engage recesses or seats 63, thus tion in the plug cap,-he continues on in movement with the same hand to a supply of plugs on the I bench to pick up another plug cap for the succeeding operation, the operator withdrawing the assembled plug terminals and cables with his left hand following the operation of the lever 50. Thus themechanism has been designed to expedite or speed up the entire assembly operation.

What I claim is:

1. A mechanism for assembling a soft rubber cap with 'its terminals and electrical cable, including, members adapted to 'be moved to hold the cap in assembly position and to release it therefrom, a slidable member plvotally carrying a pair of spaced members thereon, hook members attached one each to said spaced members and adapted to enter the terminal openings in the cap, means for controlling the movement of said hooksso they will pass through the cap whereby the cap terminals with cable attached may be engaged with said hooks, means for causing said slidable member to return to normal position to pull the terminals into and partially through the cap, means for causing said pivotally spaced members to move to unhook from said terminals, and measn for forcing the terminals into their final positionin the cap.

2. A mechanism for assembling a soft rubber cap with its terminals and electrical cable in-- cluding, a pair of pivotally mounted arms at the front end of the frame for engaging and holding the cap, means for moving and locking said arms in-cap-engaging position, a slidable member carried by the frame, elongated memberspivoted to said slidable member on opposite sides thereof and adjacent parts of said frame, hook members attached one each to said elongated pivoted members, means 'for moving said slidable member to move the hook members toward the front of the mechanism, means acting on said elongated pivoted members to cause them to guide said hook members through the contact terminal ,orifices and cable orifice in the plug cap, means for returning the slidable member to normal position causing said hooks to pull the contact terminals which have been hooked thereon with, cable attached, into the cap so'the terminals protrude through the rear end of the cap a distance beyond their operative position, means for causing said hook members to unhook from the contact terminals, and means for forcing the terminals 2, further defined in that said means acting on the elongated pivoted members for causing them to guide the hook members comprises, cooperative cam surfaces and parts on the frame and said, pivoted members and further characterized in that said means for forcing the contact terminals into final position comprises, a manually operable lever mechanically connected to an operating rod, said rod carrying a shoe having notches therein for engaging the exposed ends of said contact terminals.

4. An assembly mechanism as set forth in claim 2, further defined in that said means acting on the elongated pivoted members for causing them to guide the hook members comprises, cooperative cam surfaces and parts on the frame and said pivoted members, and further characterized in that certain of said parts have cam surfaces which act also as guide plates for said elongated pivoted members.

5. An assembly mechanism as set forth in claim 2, further defined in that the said arms have complementary socket portions for engagfor facilitating theplacement of the plug cap in position to be held by said arms so a certain amount of expansion of the plug cap can take place, and further characterized in that the means for moving and locking said arms comprises, a manually operable lever and rod carrying a cam for passing between one pair of ends of said arms, said cam having oppositely disposed flats whereon said arm ends rest when the other assembly operations are being performed.

- 6. An, assembly mechanism as set forth in claim 2, further defined in that said means acting on the elongated pivoted members for causing them to guide the hook members comprises,

60 ing the plug cap and complementary recesses cam plates on the frame near the ends of said elongated pivoted members opposite to their pivotal points, pins on said elongated members to engage said cam plates, said elongated members having cut away portions intermediate their ends forming cam surfaces, rollers carried by the frame to act on said last-mentioned cam surfaces, and resilient means acting between said elongated members tending to cause them to move about their pivotal points so the ends carrying the pins and intermediate cam surfaces are continuously forced toward their adjacent frame parts.

7. A mechanism for assembling a soft rubber cap with its terminals and electrical cable including, a frame having side guide members, a slide movable between said members, a pair of members pivoted on opposite sides of said slide and extending longitudinally of said side guide members, plates carried by said side guide members and extending over'the said pivoted members and having cam surfaces thereon, pins carried by said pivoted members for engaging said cam surfaces, said pivoted members having cam surfaces intermediate their ends, parts carried by the frame for engaging said intermediate cam surfaces, resilient means acting between said pivoted members adjacent said last-mentioned cam surfaces tending to force said members toward said side guide members, formed hook members carried on the forward ends of said pivoted mem here, said frame having openings therein through which said hook members may pass, a pair of arms movably mounted on the frame in front of said openings, means for moving said arms to grip a plug cap placed between them in front of said openings, means for moving said slide to move said hook members through the openings and through terminal openings in the plug cap, means for withdrawing said hook members with the terminals engaged and to which conductors have been attached, so said terminals are pulled through the plug cap to a given position, said slide being operable to cause said hooks to automatically disengage from the terminals, and means for forcing said terminals into the plug cap to their operative position.

8. An assembly mechanism as set forth in claim 7, further characterized in that said slide is spring-returned toglts initial starting position. and likewise said arms for gripping the plug cap are spring-returned after being 'moved to unlocked position.

9. An apparatus for assembling the terminals with cable attached to a flexible plugcap including. a frame, a slide carried by the frame, longitudinally extended members pivoted on opposite sides of said slide, formed hook members carried by said pivoted members, means for holding the plug cap in the path of travel of said hook mem bers, means for moving said slide longitudinally of the frame, means associated with the frame and said pivoted members to cause said hook members to follow a predetermined path through said plug cap, whereby the terminals may be pulled therethrough with ease, means for return ing the slide after hooking the terminals with cable attached to said hook members, said slide being movable to cause said hook members to automatically disengage from said terminals,

7 and means for forcing said terminals, after being released by said hook members, into operative ,position in the plug cap.

10. An assembly apparatus asset forth in claim 9, further characterized in that said plug cap holding means include movable arms having stop portions cooperating with a fixed stop whereby the cap is held in such a manner that it may be readily expanded according to the lateral and longitudinal movement of said hook members.

11. In a machine for assembling an electric connector plug comprising a contact prong and a body of insulating material provided with an opening extending therethrough, a portion of said opening being adapted to receive and position the contact prong in the body, the combination of a base, a plug body holder on said base, a finger mounted on said base so as to be movable forwardly through the opening in a plug body in said holder and then retractable therefrom for pulling a contact prong into such opening, means for effecting such movement of said finger, and means for effecting lim.ted rearward movement of the prong so pulled into said plug body.

12. In a machine for assembling an electric connector plug comprising a contact prong and a body of insulating material provided with an opening extending therethrough, a portion of said opening being adapted to receive and position the contact prong in the body, the combination of a base, a plug body holder on said base, a finger mounted on said base so as to be movable forwardly through the opening in a plug body in said holder and then retractable therefrom for pulling a contact prong into such opening, means for effecting such movement of said finger, and means independent of said finger for effecting limited rearward movement of the prong so pulled into said plug body.

13. In a machine for assembling an electric connector plug comprising acontact prong and a body of insulating mterial provided with a sinuous opening extending therethrough, a portion of said opening being adapted to receive and position the contact prong in the body, the combination of a base, a plug body holder on said base, a plate reclprocably mounted on said base for movement toward and from said plpg body holder, an arm 'pivotally mounted adjacent its front end on said plate so as to be reciprocable therewith and rockable transversely of the direction of reciprocation, a finger secured to said arm, projecting forwardly therefrom and adapted-to be reciprocated therewith so as to be projected through said plug body opening upon forward movement and retracted therefrom upon reverse movement, means on said finger for engaging the outer end portion of the contact prong to pull the same into said body opening upon said retraction of the finger, and means for causing the front end portion of the finger to approximately follow the course of said sinuous opening during the movement of the finger through the opening, said means comprising cam and cam-engaging means on the rearward end portion of said arm, spring means for causingsald arm-engaging means to follow a portion of said cam, and cooperating cam and cam-engaging means intermediate'the rearward end portion of said arm and the pivot of the latter, said last mentioned cam and camemging means being operative to supplement said first mentioned cam means to control the rocking movement of said finger when in advanced positions, the cam and cam-engaging means at said rear end portion acting on reverse movement of the arm after the prong has been pulled through the plug, to disconnect the finger from said prong.

JOSEPH WERTZHEIBER. 

